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National Industrial Action - Wednesday 30 November 2011

29 November 2011

Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust would like to reassure residents across the region that it is committed to keeping the level of disruption to patient care to a minimum and its emergency ambulance service will be running on Wednesday 30 November 2011.

However, The Trust is urging the public to use the service wisely for patients with serious and life-threatening conditions only.

It is anticipated that the emergency ambulance service will be operating at a reduced level between 06.00 and 18.00 when national industrial action is expected to take place which will involve members of the Trust’s staff. There is also likely to be some disruption to normal services for the remainder of the day.

Executive Director of Operations Sarah Fatchett says: “We will make every effort to get to patients as quickly and safely as possible and we will also be carrying out additional clinical triage over the telephone using doctors and senior clinicians in our emergency operations centres to ensure that we prioritise those patients who need our help the most.

“We are asking people to only call 999 for an ambulance in an emergency when it is obvious that someone has a life-threatening or serious illness or injury.

“We also ask that anyone requiring advice or treatment for a non-emergency situation or minor ailment considers options such as self-care, a visit to a local pharmacist, GP surgery or walk-in centre.

“We have also taken the difficult decision to scale back our Patient Transport Service (PTS) and will only be running an essential service for patients with renal, oncology and palliative care appointments. Our staff have been contacting all other patients to let them know about this change and we apologise for any inconvenience caused. If patients are able to make their own way to appointments they should check with the hospital or clinic first to ensure their appointment is still going ahead.”

The Trust expects there to be a period of recovery following the national industrial action and is committed to returning to business as usual as quickly as possible.

The day of national industrial action is being supported by a number of major trade unions, including those with members within the workforce of Yorkshire Ambulance Service. This national industrial action is not in response to any local issues relating to the actions of the Trust.